TA Lead Coach, Hampstead & Westminster HC

HWHC TA is seeking a Boys Lead Coach and Girls Lead Coach to lead the Boys / Girls coaching teams.

There are 24 Talent Academies across the country for the highest level 14–18 year olds.  16 hockey clubs in the surrounding area feed players into HWHC TA. Up to 60 players benefit from over 100 contact hours on pitch from September – July, rounding off the cycle with a Cup for all Talent Academies. The TA programme is made up of midweek and Sunday training, fixtures against other TAs and off pitch / online learning.

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of talent development, working with athletes who have the most potential to become junior or senior internationals, or high level University and club players.

DiSE

HWHC TA provides one coach for the Diploma in Sporting Excellence, run by England Hockey. There is also the opportunity to take this role alongside TA coaching. Pay and travel expenses are paid in addition to TA sessions.

The person

• Technical knowledge of individual and team principles including techniques, tactics and coaching trends, and ability to apply the demands of performance level hockey within a talent development environment.
• Ability to connect with and build relationships with a diverse range of club and school directors of hockey and coaches.
• Experience of coaching players at County level and above.
• Understands talent development principles and development of young athletes with a track record of effective talent identification and selection.
• Experience in planning, organising and implementing a comprehensive high performance coaching programme for junior athletes.
• Forward thinking: able to apply different coaching approaches to their delivery to meet the needs of the players.
• Ability to support, develop, challenge and empower others.
• Strong communicator: able to accurately disseminate information using a variety of methods and to a range of audiences (coaches, players, parents, managers).
• Self-motivated and able to work independently and as part of a team.
• Efficient and organised with effective time management.
• Commitment to personal coach development.
• Understanding of and commitment to equal opportunities in employment and equality issues.
• Understanding of and commitment to comply with Health and Safety Policies & Procedures.
• Embodies the Talent Coach Profile. 

The role

On pitch

• Plan, coordinate and deliver high quality sessions that develop the Complete Player Qualities.
• Contact time includes midweek training, Sunday training and fixtures, Talent Academy Cup and Easter tour. See Appendix I for activity schedule. The Lead Coach should be available for at least 90% of activity.
• Work as part of a coaching team to check and challenge each other and limit bias.
• Support coaches to ensure consistency and quality at training sessions.
• Select players into the Talent Academy programme.
• Select players for fixtures and Talent Academy Cup.
• Take responsibility for the safety and protection of the individuals in their programme.
• Represent the Talent Academy in all training and competition environments favourably.
• Adhere to the England Hockey Code of Ethics and Behaviour & Safeguarding policies.

Off pitch

• Player Profiling in line with the Talent System Framework:
  • Game Understanding.
  • Highly Skilled Actions.
  • Physical Capabilities.
  • Mental Skills.
  • Teamship.
  • Superstrengths.
• Performance management and communication with athletes, including the ongoing delivery of Individual Development Plans, training diaries, selection decisions and player feedback.
• Maintain regular engagement with players and their environments away from training, utilising a variety of communication and presentation tools.
• Run off pitch / online learning (approx. 6 sessions per cycle).

This role description is not intended to be regarded as inclusive or exhaustive and will be amended in light of the changing needs of the organisation. 

If you would like any further information about the role, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at HWHCTalentAcademy@outlook.com